united nations security council (unsc)

One of the most emblematic bodies of the United Nations, the Security Council is entitled with the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, as well as with the power to issue binding resolutions upon all UN member states. The greatest issues of peace and security are discussed and decided by the members of the Security Council in the scope of their conflicting interests. The Council is composed by 15 members: five of which are permanent, each having the prerogative of vetoing resolutions if it is deemed necessary; and ten of which are temporary, elected for two-year terms and without the capacity of prohibiting resolutions. The importance of the decisions of the Security Council is due not only to the fact that its resolutions are binding upon all States party to the UN, but also because these decisions are generally considered as evidence of international custom.

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Topic Area A: Threats to International Peace and Security Caused by Terrorist Acts

Terrorism, in a broad sense, is a force present in Western society since at least the French Revolution, in 1789. It was a reality throughout the second half of the 19th century, when anarchist groups attacked State apparel and personnel aiming the destruction of any form of government1. In the 20th century, terrorist groups began taking actions against international targets in order to achieve various political objectives.2 Although the origins of terrorism can be traced back to at least as far as the Modern Age, there is a widespread feeling among many societies that it is a form of violence most emblematic to the 21st century.

In a world of rapid exchange of information, the unpredictability of terrorist actions creates anxiety and fear. Since it is a highly mutable phenomenon, ever so capable of surprising and shocking when it comes to the choice of targets and means, it is impossible to rule out the possibility of a devastating attack, one which combines high technological devices and the disposition among the terrorists to harm as many people as possible. It is the fear of this possibility that makes terrorism capable of arousing great panic and of sometimes almost paralyzing societies as a whole.

Terrorism has been one of the main subjects of discussion within the United Nations since the organization's inception in 1945. It was only in 2005, however, that Member States condemned terrorism "in all its forms and manifestations, committed by whomever, wherever and for whatever purposes" as "one of the most serious threats to international peace and security" (UNITED NATIONS, 2006a). In 2006, the UN presented its counter-terrorism strategy, which basically consists of "dissuading people from resorting to terrorism or supporting it; denying the terrorists means to carry out an attack; deterring States from supporting terrorism; developing State capacity to defeat terrorism; defending human rights" while fighting terrorism (UNITED NATIONS, 2006b).

Within the Security Council, terrorism is a major concern since the early 1990s, when its responses were usually sanctions against States who allegedly had bonds with terrorist organizations. In 1999, the Security Council called upon Member States to act together to prevent and avert terrorist acts. This became only a predecessor to the intensification of its counterterrorism efforts after September 11, 2001, when the UNSC formed a Counterterrorism Committee composed of experts on the matter. The Committee assists and promotes cooperation among Member States, which are required to report periodically on the issue. Following the World Summit Conference in 20053, the UNSC held a high-level meeting and adopted a landmark resolution (1624) supporting the decisions previously taken toward the suppression of terrorism. It also called upon members to prohibit by law terrorist acts, incitements to commit them and also to deny shelter to anyone condemned of this crime.

In spite of the great deal of attention the subject of terrorism has received by the international community in the last decade, there is still no consensus on the root causes of this phenomenon. Furthermore, there is no universally accepted conception on how terrorism should be addressed by countries, or even how that term should be defined. Neither the Security Council nor the General Assembly has been able to agree on a working definition of terrorism. However, both organs have ample authority to deal with its manifestations - that is, violence against civilians designed to instill fear or terror (LUCK, 2004). Bearing that in mind, the Council is to meet when there is information of worrisome movements among some acknowledged terrorist organizations, posing serious threats to international peace. The goal of the meeting should be the discussion of effective manners to prevent terrorist acts as well as of proper ways to deal with an attack of this kind once it has happened. In the event of a major attack, this organ must respond with coherence and effectiveness.

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Topic Area B: The situation in Afghanistan

After the September 11, 2001 attacks by Afghanistan based Al-Qaeda4 (RASHID, 2002) against the United States, the International Community responded in virtual unison. With the refusal from Taliban5 authorities to cooperate by handing over members of the organization, destroying terrorist camps in Afghanistan and allowing foreign military presence inside the country, a broad based military campaign led by the United States was launched against that regime. The campaign, which became known as Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and later evolved to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) led by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), was an apparent success, ousting the Taliban leaders and establishing a new Interim Authority in the country.

The ISAF, however, turned out to be incapable of tracking down all Al-Qaeda members and of eradicating the Taliban's influence in Afghanistan. Many members from these organizations were able to either hide in the mountainous areas or to seek refuge in Pakistan. With mounting corruption, escalating drug trade, and delayed reconstruction of the country's war destroyed infrastructure, the Interim Government, as well as its elected successor, failed to control the whole of the country's territory and to gain support from its population. Exiled Taliban members slowly returned from their hideouts, creating an insurgence rooted in their former influence among clergymen, elders and tribal leaders (GIUSTOZZI, 2008).

The new insurgents, frequently referred to as neo-Taliban6, represent an opposition that has evolved beyond the old regime, encompassing new groups with new agendas. The conflict grew, largely based on the general weakness of the Afghan State, one of the main aspects which prevented the current government from gaining full public legitimacy. In the last couple of years, insurgencies surfaced virtually all over Afghan territory, and it has been stated that the government maintains control only over the region of Kabul (CREWS; TARZI, 2008).

Six years after driving the Taliban from power and hastily declaring Afghanistan an accomplishment, dissonant voices are found in the International Community, which appears to be incapable of responding in an orchestrated manner when concerning the country's grave situation, and even when responding to matters such as drug trafficking and insurgency. One of the biggest deterrents to international coordination is the way foreign peace actors are operating - side-by-side but through separate command structures under multiple leads. The ISAF (International Security and Assistance Force), a military mission currently led by NATO, is one of the main actors operating for the establishment of peace in the country. However, its actions are not always coordinated with those from the United Front, an internal force that opposed the Taliban regime. Furthermore, the Afghan National Army (ANA), run by the Afghan government itself, has also been acting independently, contributing to the lack of coordination among the military actors working in the country. The initial aim - to develop the country's infrastructure, support the establishment of a functioning government and combat the rising narcotics production - seems to be furthering away; and discredit among some of the main contributing countries' population is rising (RASHID, 2005; THE ECONOMIST, 2008).

The United Nations Security Council has been actively working to resolve the situation in Afghanistan, endorsing actions taken both internationally and internally to rebuild the Afghan State, restore peace and create national reconciliation. The Council established, in March 2002, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, which has since then been working towards these goals. Much, however, has yet to be done, and the situation remains far from stabilized.

A failed Afghan State can have a deteriorating effect on issues such as warlordism, the harboring of terrorist organizations, poppy production and the virtual absence of infrastructure. Furthermore, the potential harm a failed Afghan state poses to international security has to be fully understood, and that question must be tackled by this Council. Along with that, the Council must address, in this meeting, matters such as the increasing attacks by neo-Taliban insurgents and the escalation of poppy cultivation, as well as the current dissidence among the international actors operating in the peace process.

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1. The most famous of these attacks was the assassination of Tsar Alexander II, in 1881. For a fictional portrait of terrorist anarchism, see Fyodor Dostoyevsky's "The Possessed".
2. This form of terrorism began to be adopted during the process of creation of the state of Israel, when terrorist attacks were made by both Jewish and Arab extremists, against each other and the British occupation.
3. The 2005 World Summit Conference was a plenary meeting at the level of Heads of State or Government, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. At that meeting, international leaders agreed to take action on a range of global changes.
4. Al-Qaeda is an International terrorist organization, led by Osama Bin Laden. It defends extreme Islamic fundamentalism and promotes an international Jihad (struggle) against what they acknowledge as unbelievers of the Islamic faith. By 2001, Afghanistan was the organization's main training camp, as it was considered a safe haven for such illicit operations.
5. The Taliban is an Afghan Sunni fundamentalist movement, which started acting as a major political force in 1994, as one of the combating sides in Afghanistan's civil war. The Taliban took over the government in 1996, when they gained control of the capital city of Kabul. Along with the Taliban rise to power, they established increasing ties with Al-Qaeda and its leader, Osama Bin Laden, who contributed with money and soldiers to the Taliban leadership, influencing them in their antagonism to the West. (Rashid, 2002)
6. This term was first used in a May 2003 article from "The Economist", "Taking on the warlords". Available at: http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=E1_TRDGDQD

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References:

CREWS, R. D., TARZI, A. The Taliban and the Crisis of Afghanistan. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2008 DOSTOEVSKY, F., DEMONS. Everyman's Library, 2000.
EVANS, G. The Global Response to Terrorism. Wallace Wurth Lecture by Gareth Evans, President, International Crisis Group, University of New South Wales, Sydney, 2005. Available at: http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=3705&l=1
GIUSTOZZI, A. Koran Kalashnikov and Laptop: The Neo-Taliban Insurgency in Afghanistan. New York: Columbia University Press, 2008.
INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP. Afghanistan: The Need for International Resolve. Asia Report N° 145, 6 February 2008 Available at: http://www.crisisgroup.org/library/documents/asia/south_asia/145_afghanistan___the_need_for_international_resolve.pdf
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LAQUEUR, W. No End to War: Terrorism in the Twenty-First Century. New York, Continuum, 2004
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SMELSER, N. J. The Faces of Terrorism: Social and Psychological Dimension. Princeton, Princeton University Press, 2007
THE ECONOMIST. A ray of light in the dark defile. March 27, 2008 available at: http://www.economist.com/world/international/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10919203&CFID=1071347&CFTOKEN=89187142
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UNITED NATIONS, The United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy. New York, 8 September 2006 (b). Available at: http://www.un.org/terrorism/strategy-counter-terrorism.shtml#resolution
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